WHAT HEELS: Radio Silence
The U.S. Attorney's Office has charged Deborah Bowers and her Iraqi-born associate Steve Jabar of diverting $65,000 of a $350,000 United Nations fund meant to start a radio station to promote women's rights in Iraq to pay off personal loans, credit cards and property taxes, reports The Associated Press:
"Although the defendants did establish a radio station in Iraq, they undermined the goal of the radio station by diverting tens of thousands of dollars of the grant money to enrich themselves," acting U.S. Attorney Kathleen Mehltretter said.
Radio Almahaba, with its slogan "The Voice of Iraqi Women," was called the first station in the Middle East devoted to women's issues, broadcasting programs about marriage, careers, religion and dress codes from the perspective of women.
If convicted of charges that include wire fraud, money laundering and lying in connection with a scheme to defraud, Bowers and Jabar could each be sentenced to as much as 20 years in prison.
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